Friday, May 31, 2013

Ginger Pudding

It's surprisingly easy to make pudding at home. Cornstarch and the tapioca starch in Ener-G egg replacer both act as thickeners in this recipe. Use any non-dairy milk, according to your taste preference.

Ingredients:

3 cups plain non-dairy milk, divided

1/3 cup finely chopped crystallized ginger*

2/3 cup vegan sugar

3 tablespoons cornstarch

Dash of salt

3 Ener-G egg yolks

1 tablespoon vegan butter

1 teaspoon grated lemon rind

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. In a saucepan, combine 2 and 1/2 cups of the milk with the ginger. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and let stand for 5 minutes.

2. In a large bowl, combine the remaining 1/2 cup milk, the sugar, cornstarch, salt, and Ener-G egg yolks (4 and 1/2 teaspoons powder whisked into only 3 tablespoons warm water). Stir with a whisk until well blended. Gradually add one-fourth of the hot milk mixture to the sugar mixture, then add the remaining hot milk mixture, stirring constantly.

3. Return the whole mixture to the saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Continue to cook for 1 to 2 minutes, until thick and creamy, stirring constantly.

4. Remove from heat and stir in the butter, lemon rind, and vanilla.

5. Spoon the pudding into a clean bowl and cover the surface with plastic wrap. Chill.

You can serve the pudding plain, or add fresh berries as a pretty garnish. I particularly liked the ginger paired with blueberries.

*Be sure to buy crystallized ginger made with raw cane sugar. International Harvest is one good option.

Nutrition Info:
6 servings (1/2 cup), Calories 226

Tasting Notes:
The consistency is absolutely perfect, and the ginger flavor just infuses the entire dish. I did find, though, that there were too many little chunks of ginger in each spoonful, and would have preferred the same ginger taste but fewer chunks. You might be able to achieve this by using half as much crystallized ginger but adding some powdered ginger into the mix. I'd play around with combinations for texture reasons alone, but the taste was beautiful - like creamy gingerbread. Rating:
4